CURRY, William (1794?-1868) — Dublin
Bookseller & publisher; mapseller. As ‘William Curry Jr. & Co.’ published Philip Dixon Hardy, ‘The northern tourist : or stranger’s guide to the north and northwest of Ireland’ 1830, with a map engraved by John Kirkwood (see BME 2011); Philip Dixon Hardy, ‘The new picture of Dublin: or, stranger’s guide through the Irish metropolis’ 1831, with a map; Martin Doyle, ‘Hints on emigration to Upper Canada’ 1832, with a map; ‘Guide to the county of Wicklow, illustrated with five engravings, and a map’ 1834; George Newnham Wright, ‘A guide to the Giants’ Causeway’ 1834, with a map; a “map of Ireland, beautifully engraved by Kirkwood, printed on an enamel card” 1835; James Fraser, ‘Guide through Ireland : descriptive of its scenery, towns, seats, antiquities, etc.’ 1838, with maps; A new map of Ireland 1838; William Robert Wilde, ‘Narrative of a voyage to Madeira, Teneriffe and along the shores of the Mediterranean’ 1840, with a map; Plan of the city of Dublin, engraved from an actual survey for ‘The picture of Dublin’ 1841; Caesar Otway, ‘Sketches in Erris and Tyrawly’ 1841, with a map; ‘Belfast and its environs : with a tour to the Giant’s Causeway’ 1842, with a map; Dublin and its environs 1843; James Fraser, ‘A hand book for travellers in Ireland’ 1843, with maps, of which seventeen road maps engraved by William Home Lizars (see BME 2011) were also sold separately, both in a cloth case titled ‘Road Maps / Ireland’ and as ‘Road maps for tourists in Ireland’ 1844; William Henry Dennie, ‘Personal narrative of the campaigns in Affghanistan, Sinde, Beloochistan, etc.’ 1843, with a map; The Irish railway guide’ 1846, with a map; Plan of the city of Dublin, engraved from an actual survey 1853, etc. Also printed ‘The psaltery; a collection of psalm and hymn tunes’ 1835 for John Kirkwood.
Born in or about 1794, the son of William Curry (d.1816), a prominent Dublin merchant. He traded as William Curry Jr. from at least 1824. He married Maria Jones Hurry (1801-1871), with whom he had at least one child, at St. Michael Liverpool 30 May 1830 and was visiting his wife’s family in Liverpool at the time of the 1841 census. He led a revival in Irish book publishing, often employing John Kirkwood (see BME 2011) for engraving. Best known for his publication of the novels of Charles Lever, he became Bookseller to the Queen in Ireland. James McGlashan, who had worked for Curry from 1830, began a separate business in 1846. Curry was declared bankrupt at about this time — at a hearing in 1848 he said that this had been caused by overtrading. One of his creditors stated that “Mr. Curry had acted in perfect fairness … and he believed all the creditors, would be anxious to have the concern kept open” (Dublin Evening Mail, 23 Feb 1848). Curry continued trading until 1864, when the business was sold. He died at his brother’s house, Fortfield Lodge, Dublin, 11 Oct 1868, and was buried two days later at Mount Jerome Cemetery.
22 Upper Sackville Street, Dublin — 1824
9 Upper Sackville Street, Dublin — 1825-1864
Information from J. H. Andrews. Benson. BM. BNA. Census 1841. Chubb. Humphries & Smith. LHD. Smith. Tooley.